The Ottawa Senators have dealt premiere forward Matt Duchene to the Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as Julius Bergman, who is returning to the SHL next season. In return, Ottawa received Vitaly Abramov, Jonathan Davidsson a first rounder, and a conditional first rounder. The condition is if Duchene re-signs Ottawa gets another first. However, no contract talks have begun. Duchene, 27, carries a $6.0 million cap hit through the end of the season when he is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Believe the full trade is: Abramov, Davidsson and a 1st RD pick for Duchene and Bergman. And a conditional 1st RD pick if Matt Duchene signs with Columbus
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 22, 2019
Sens Move Matt Duchene for Prospects
A blockbuster three-way trade early last season sent Matt Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche to Ottawa, Kyle Turris to the Nashville Predators, and a ton of picks and prospects from both Ottawa and Nashville to Colorado. So far this season, Duchene has 27 goals and 31 assists for 58 points in 50 games
Matt Duchene expressed a desire to leave Colorado for nearly a year before the deal finally occurred. He cited the team’s struggles as the main reason he wanted to leave, as he hoped to play playoff hockey. Ironically, the Senators are currently the last place team in the league.
Duchene has 228 goals and 307 assists for 535 total points over 704 games. He is known for his tremendous skill and speed, as many of his points end up on highlight reels across the league. He brings a lot of talent to the Blue Jackets, and he’ll undoubtedly be happy for another fresh start.
Senators Looking Drastically Different
Davidsson was a 6th round draft pick in 2017 for the Blue Jackets who was taken as an over-ager. The 21-year-old right winger has 10 goals and 10 assists in 35 games this season in the Swedish Hockey League. Abramov, a third rounder in 2016, currently has been productive in his first year as a pro, scoring 12 goals and 22 points in 52 games with the Cleveland Monsters.
A lot has changed in the Sens dressing room in a short period of time. Aside from Duchene coming in and out in such a short period, they are now expected to trade both Stone and Dzingel as well. Mike Hoffman is now with the Florida Panthers, Erik Karlsson is now with the San Jose Sharks, it has been a season to forget for the Senators
The team is in full blown rebuild mode at this point. Their last “expensive” player is Bobby Ryan, who may be the least productive player in the league earning north of $7 million per season. They even lost their 1st round pick in the 2019 draft in that Duchene trade, so it could take a while to piece this back together. The 2019 first-rounder that Columbus is sending to Ottawa in this trade is top 3 protected. Meaning, if Columbus misses the playoffs and wins the lottery, they keep their pick. Ottawa would then get the 2020 first rounder.
Main Photo: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – NOVEMBER 10: Matt Duchene #95 of Ottawa Senators enters the ice for warmup ahead of the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series match between Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche at Ericsson Globe on November 10, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images)
